New Albany edges Corinth

Dalvin Carr made one of the biggest catches in his tenure with New Albany, helping the Bulldogs seal the 14-7 win over Corinth last Friday night.

The Warriors’ final drive stayed alive after Luke Foley was penalized for roughing the punter, but Carr’s interception with 1:25 remaining gave New Albany the ball around midfield, leading to their third win of the season.

“It’s a big deal for our kids to be 3-0. It was not the prettiest game in the world, but we found a way to battle there at the end and come out with the win,” NAHS head coach Ron Price said. “I’m thankful for the win, but I’m not very pleased with how we played football tonight.”

“I feel like we didn’t play to our full potential. We could have played better, but defensively in the game tonight, I feel like that’s where we won the game,” Carr added.

Both defenses were impressive throughout the night, as Corinth was able to stop the Bulldogs’ many weapons, while New Albany held their third straight opponent to less than 14 points. The Bulldogs have now outscored their opponents 90-18 in three games.

“Our defense did an outstanding job, and our coaches have done an outstanding job getting our kids lined up correctly and getting them to hustle to the football and defend the pass,” Price said. “Those guys did an outstanding job tonight. They kept us in the game and made play after play. Dalvin Carr cam up with the big interception there at the end to seal the win for us. I’m very proud of that unit.”

O.J. Hardin recovered a fumble at midfield in the second quarter which led to the ‘Dawgs first score, a 50-yard Tyler Basil pass to Taylor Goode, giving the Bulldogs the lead at the half.

Another Corinth miscue, an interception to Riley Alef, set up New Albany’s second score toward the end of the third quarter, as Kareem Brown found the end zone for his first rushing touchdown of the season.

Basil finished the night 17-for-31, 286 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions, while Brown ended with 92 receiving yards and another 28 on the ground. The Bulldogs offense also had an uncharacteristic four turnovers in the game.

“We weren’t making the plays tonight,” Price said. “We had the opportunities, we just didn’t execute and come through. The speed of the game was maybe a little faster tonight than what it has been, and we just weren’t there. Last week, we executed and executed and everything went our way. Tonight was just the opposite. We found ways to make mistakes, and we’ve got to clean that up. We can’t turn the ball over, and hopefully we can learn from our mistakes tonight.”

Taylor Goode had 100 receiving yards while Kelvin Worship ended with 92 yards on the ground. Defensively, Zach Hand and Riley Alef finished with 17 and 13 tackles apiece. Carr said that while the win was good, there are still things that need to be worked on before heading into division play.

“It [the win] feels good. It’s my second full year at New Albany, and it feels good,” he said. “We still have to pick it up come division play since we have Shannon and Itawamba, so we’ve got to play harder.”

The Bulldogs will play the next two games on the road, starting with Baldwyn this Friday.